Salvation
by Darth Kieduss the Wise
Summary: Anakin has to make a difficult choice as he confronts Windu and Sidious.
1. Battle

"Master Windu!" Palpatine greeted. "I take it General Grievous has been destroyed then. I must say, you're here sooner than expected."

"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic," Mace Windu declared, igniting his lightsaber. Its signature amethyst blaze shined brightly. His Jedi comrades, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin followed suit. "You're under arrest, Chancellor."

Chancellor Palpatine's face went from benign to malevolent. He seemed very old, and very evil, all at once. His voice became feral. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"

"The Senate will decide your fate."

"I _am_ the Senate!" Palpatine shouted in a burst of anger.

"Not yet," Mace denounced.

Palpatine slowly stood. A lightsaber appeared out of his right sleeve into his wrinkled hand. "It's treason, then," he declared, igniting the lightsaber. Its crimson blade immediately caught the attention of the Jedi Masters.

Roaring loudly, Palpatine lept, spinning through the air at the Jedi. The Jedi raised their blades, on guard. The Showdown on Coruscant had begun.

Snarling, Palpatine thrusted his blade forward, stabbing Agen Kolar in the stomach. His blue blade extinguished itself. His body twisted as his knees buckled, falling to the floor with a pained roar. Tiin prepared to strike down Palpatine, but his shock from seeing his comrade die made him hesitate. Palpatine pivoted and slashed Tiin across the ribs. His emerald blade shrank away, and the handgrip tumbled from his opening fingers. He pitched forward onto his face, and lay still after a loud scream.

In the blank second that followed, while Mace Windu and Kit Fisto could do no more than angle their lightsabers to guard as Palpatine swiftly stepped over the bodies and attacked. He lunged to stab Fisto as he had with Kolar, but the Nautolan Jedi Master was quick enough to parry the strike. Before Palpatine could counter with a beheading strike, Windu joined in the fight. Palpatine blocked two blows from Windu and pivoted around to attack again. Fisto blocked another strike as Windu made a downward slash.

The two Jedi Masters began to finally coordinate their attack on the Sith Lord. Windu and Fisto surrounded Sidious; Fisto on Sidious' right, Windu on the left. They attacked.

Anakin's speeder shrieked through the sky, dodging other speeder cars, disregarding honking horns and ignoring obsene swears and finger gestures. On the vast cliff face of the Senate Office Building, one window spat lightning into his vision-but this lightning was the color of clashing lightsabers.

Green fans, sheets of purple...and crimson flame.

He was too late.

The green fire faded and winked out; now the lightning was only purple and red.

His repulsorlifts howled as he heeled the speeder up onto its side, skidding through the wind-shear turbulence to bring it to a bobbing halt outside the window of Palpatine's private office. Anakin brought into focus a jumble of bodies on the floor of Palpatine's private office. Bodies in Jedi robes.

Anakin's own blade sang blue as it slashed through the window and he dived through the gap. He rolled to his feet among the a litter of bodies and sprinted through a shattered door along the small private corridor and through a doorway that flashed and flared with energy-scatter. Anakin skidded to a stop.

Within the public office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, a last Jedi Master battled alone, blade-to-blade, against a living shadow.

Sinking into Vaapad, Mace Windu fought for his life. More than his life: each whirl of blade and whipcrack of lightning was a strike of democracy, of justice and peace, of the rights of ordinary beings to live their own lives in their own ways. He was fighting for the Republic that he loved.

Vaapad, the seventh form of lightsaber combat, takes its name from a notoriously dangerous predator native to the moons of Sarapin: a vaapad attacks its prey with whipping strikes of its blindingly fast tenteacles. Most have at least seven. It is not uncommon for them to have as many as twelve; the largest ever killed had twenty-three. With a vaapad, one never knew how many tentacles it had until it was dead: they move too fast to count. Almost too fast to see.

So did Mace's blade.

Vaapad is as aggressive and powerful as its namesake, but its power comes at great risk: immersion in Vaapad opens the gates that restrain one's inner darkness. To use Vaapad, a Jedi must allow himself to _enjoy_ the fight; he must give himself over to the thrill of battle. The rush of _winning_. Vaapad is a path that leads through the penumbra of the dark side.

Mace Windu created this style, and he was its only living master.

This was Vaapad's ultimate test.

Windu and Sidious locked blades, staring into each other's faces. There was only Sidious and his rage, Windu and his determination, and Skywalker and his shock. Their blades sizzling in opposition, each used the Force to press against the strength of the other, but neither had an obvious advantage.

Sidious shoved Mace away and unleashed an onslaught of overhand slashes and crosscuts. Mace backed off, parrying, unable to respond with blows of his own. Sidious tried to split Mace's head open but Mace blocked again and again.

Sidious unleashed a blast of energy that caught the Jedi Master unprepared and sent him slamming into a wall. It took the wind from his lungs. He immediately regained his breath and refocused himself as a crimson red blade descended towards his head. Mace blocked the blow and sent it sideways. He spun into a high, Force-augmented kick that hit Sidious right in the chest and sent him flying backward. Sidious flipped and landed upright in a crouch a foot away from hitting the other wall. Burning with hate, he charged at Mace.

The fighting was effortless for Mace Windu now; he let his body handle it without the intervention of his mind. His blade spun and crackled while his feet slid and his weight shifted and his shoulders turned in precise curves of their own direction. Sidious struck at Windu while performing Ataru moves then back to mixing his moves with all even forms.

Their blades hit the glass of Palpatine's office window. The glass shattered into thousands of small shards. Sidious, snarling with a smile, used the Force to lift up the largest, razor sharp shards and sent them all towards Mace. Mace spread his arms out, standing as if he was a cross, the fingers of his left hand facing the ceiling, the right holding his lightsaber. All of the shards of glass turned into dust three feet away from him.

Mace attacked, letting loose a flurry of rapid Vaapad strikes, slashes, and lunges. Sidious parried one blow after another but could not find an opening to mount his own counterattack. Lunging forward, Mace slashed crosswise, Sidious parried, and Mace slammed the bottom of his boot into Sidious's jaw.

Dazed from the assault, Sidious took a few steps back. Mace took the advantage. With a flick of his blade in one precise arc, he slashed Sidious's lightsaber in half. One piece flipped back in through the cut-open window. THe other tumbled from opening fingers, bounced on the ledge, and fell through the sky and toward the distant alleys below.

Palpatine, old and shrunken, thinning hair bleached white by time and care, face lined with exhaustion, was unarmed. Acting like a defenseless old man, he backed up until he couldn't.

"For all your power, you are no Jedi," Mace said evenly, staring past his blade. "You are under arrest, my lord."

Mace's senses a man walking towards them. Mace had no need to look; the presence in the Force was familiar, and was as uplifting as sunlight breaking through a thunderhead.

The Chosen One was here.

With a 'wait' hand gesture from Mace, Anakin Skywalker halted in front of the Jedi Master and Sith Lord.

"Anakin, I told you it would come to this," Palpatine said, his voice once again had the broken cadence of a frightened old man's. "I was right. The Jedi are taking over!"

"Save your twisted words, Palpatine," Mace denounced, leveling his blade. "There are no politicians here. The Sith will never regain control of the Republic as it did in the First Great Galactic War. The oppression by the Sith will never return. It's over. You have lost. You lost for the same reason the Sith always lose: defeated by your own fear."

Palpatine lifted his head. His eyes smoked with hate.

"No. No. NO! You _fool_! Do you think the fear is _mine_? You will die!"

Lightning blasted the clouds above, and lightning blasted from Palpatine's hands, and Mace didn't have time to comprehend what Palpatine was talking about; he had time only to slip back into Vaapad and angle his blade to catch the forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred that clawed toward him. Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source.

Palpatine staggered, snarling, but the blistering energy that poured from his hands only intensified. He fed the power with his pain.

"Anakin!" Mace called. His voice sounded distant, blurred, as if it came from the bottom of a well. "Anakin, help me! This is your chance!"

He flet Anakin's leap from the office floor to the ledge, felt his approach behind. And Palpatine was not afraid. Mace could feel it: he wasn't worried at all.

"Destroy this tratior!" the Chancellor yelled, his voice raised over the howl of writhing energy that joined his hands to Mace's blade. "This was never an arrest! It's an _assassination_!"

That's when Mace finally understood. He had it. The key to final victory. Palpatine's shatterpoint. The absolute shatterpoint of the Sith. The shatterpoint of the dark side itself.

Mace thought, blankly astonished, _Palpatine trusts Anakin Skywalker..._

Now Anakin was at Mace's shoulder. Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Jedi Master's face.

"He's a tratior! Destroy him, Anakin!" Palpatine roared.

"_He_ is the traitor!" Mace groaned desperately drawing strength from the Force to push back the lightning to it's source. "Aaaaggghhh!"

Palpatine's eyes glowed with power, casting a yellow glare that burned back the rain around them. "I have the power to _save_ the one you _love_! You must _choose_!"

"Don't listen to him, Anakin! AAAGGGHHH!" Mace screamed, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade. "You're the Chosen One! Take him! It's your _destiny_!"

Anakin echoed him faintly. "Destiny..."

"Help me! Don't let him kill me! He is _killing_ me, Anakin! Please, Anaa_ahhh_! I can't hold on any longer!" The yellow glare from Palpatine's eyes spread outward through his flesh. His skin flowed like oil, as though the muscle beneath was burning away, as though even the bones of his skull were softening, were bending and bulging, deforming from the heat and pressure of his electric hatred. "I-I-I-I can't. I'm weak. I'm...too weak."

Mace's blade bent so close to his face he was choking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too _strong _for me!"

"_Ahhh-_" Palpatine's roar above the endless blast of lightning became a fading moan of despair. The lightning swallowed itself, leaving only the night and the rain, and an old man crumpled to his knees on a slippery ledge. "I...can't. I give up. I...I am too weak, in the end. Too old, and too weak. Don't kill me, Master Jedi. Please! I surrender. I-I-I-I can't hold on any longer."

Victory flooded through Mace's aching body. "I am going to end this _once_ and for _all_!"

"You can't," Anakin said. "He must stand trial."

"He has control of the Senate _and_ the Courts," Mace said, grim but certain. "He's too dangerous to be left alive!"

"I'm too weak!" Palpatine cried. "Oh! Don't kill me! Please!"

"It's not the Jedi way!" Anakin protested. "He _must_ live!"

"Please, don't," Palpatine begged.

Mace lifted his head, biting his lip as he considered what Anakin said. If he killed him, a defenseless man, though a Sith, would he be any better than Palpatine? Would killing an unarmed prisoner be against the Code?

If Mace decided to ignore Anakin's warning, what consequences would it have? Anakin remembered Palpatine's words Palpatine sent to him telepathically while he sat in the Council chambers.

_You do know, don't you? _Palpatine said, so calmly, so warmly, so reasonably, _If the Jedi destroy me, my knowledge dies with me. If I die, any chance of saving her...will be lost._

Yet, something inside him told him otherwise. Was it a hallucination? Some paranoid fear? Or was it an illusion placed into his mind by Sidious?

Though he wouldn't just forget the issue of his nightmares, it wouldn't betray the Jedi Order or his destiny. If Anakin's nightmares weren't a trick, even if Sidious died, he'd find another way to save Padmé. Padmé and their unborn child. He _wouldn't _use the dark side to save her, but he wouldn't let her and their child die either. He'd find a way. He would settle that matter later. His destiny as the Chosen One was here and now.

Mace sighed. The blade, while still activated, lowered to a guard position instead of prepared for a fatal blow. "You're right, Anakin. Get up, Chancellor. Put your hands where I can see them. As I said, you're under arrest_._"

Palpatine's eyes burned with hatred and rage, as did his roaring voice. "NEVER!"

Rising back to his feet, he tossed aside the 'old, weak man' ruse and blasted more lightning at Windu. Mace was too taken by surprise, and exhaustion, to raise his blade in time. Before he could be blasted into ashes, a sudden blade of blue plasma inserted itself in front of him. The lightning wrapped itself around the blade. Anakin Skywalker was taking on his destiny as the Chosen One.

"Anakin, how could you? You've betrayed me! You've betrayed the Republic! Both of you have! You're both traitors!" A silver lightsaber flung from his desk and rested itself into Palpatine's wrinkled, burned hands. It was a spare. "I knew all along about the Jedi's treachery! You both shall die!"

"My powers in the Force are now stronger than yours, Darth Sidious, so be silent," Anakin said. "And let me tell you something. With the Sith, there is always destruction. You Sith destroy every kriffing thing for power! You were the one responsible for the attack on Naboo all those years ago. You ran both sides of the Clone War! You're responsible for the billions of lives lost! You wanted to turn me to the dark side of the force and blind me to reason by killing everyone who mean so much to me? Did you want to see if you could still sway me by turning my own emotions against me? With the insidious nature you posses that fills your very name, you have taken _everything_ that was beautiful and just from the Republic and the entire galaxy. You seek to destroy peace, freedom, justice and security so that you can bring the entire galaxy under your iron rule! You didn't really think I would let you actually accomplish this?! This is my _destiny_! _I _am the Chosen One! And I will destroy you if you don't put down that lightsaber! You're under arrest!"

"NEVER!" Palpatine roared with a hiss. While Mace Windu was a master of Vaapad, which he created, Skywalker was a Djem So stylist, and as fine a one as Sidious had ever seen. Sidious was a master of all the forms. He was a Sith Swordmaster.

For a moment there was nothing. The three warriors stood ready, their lightsaber blades hissing. A small, nearly unnoticeable smile crossed Sidious's lips moments before he struck. A quick slash at Anakin's head was immediately denied by Mace. Sidious attacked in a ferocious explosion of moves that sent the two Jedi back in defense. The two Jedi, working together, deflected blow after blow from the Sith Lord. Each lightsaber slicing through the open air, every stroke igniting an intense hail of blinding light flashes as they crossed paths.

Anakin and Mace came on, so suddenly, so powerfully, their blue and violet blades whirling with such speed that they seemed almost encased in blue and violet light. Palpatine lost his confidence again. He had to work to keep Anakin and Mace's blades at bay, dodging more than parrying. Finally, he gained some space, and counterattacked.

A slash at Mace's neck was slapped away by Anakin. Mace returned the favor by saving Anakin's right arm from being severed for a second time. Sidious traded thrust for slash, forcing Anakin to dodge and parry as often as he and Mace tried to strike. It was as if Sidious had grown more powerful after being defeated the first time.

Mace and Anakin came on hard, coordinating their attacks in the Force. While Anakin held his ground stubbornly, his blue blade flashing left and right and down, and Mace's violet blade slashing so forcefully and precisely that none of Sidious's attacks got through.

At the door, a struggling person used one hand to crawl through. Looking at the two warriors do battle, he understood that Mace was already exhausted and Anakin was expending many times the energy of Sidious, and would eventually tire.

"Anakin!" the person called.

The battle halted for a second. "Master Fisto!" Anakin cried. "Your alive!"

"Not for long," Kit Fisto said. The three Jedi understood that Fisto's wound was too severe for him to live, even if he got to a hospital. "Catch!"

Anakin caught Fisto's lightsaber as the flow of the fighting resumed, turning it under and igniting it immediately, putting into into the swirling flow. Armed with both his and Master Fisto's lightsabers, young Skywalker attacked with with fresh resolve.

Smiling, Fisto laid his head down and embraced the Netherworld of the Force. He died, but all that remained were his cloak and Jedi clothes. His passing effected both Anakin and Mace, but his sacrifice gave them strength to continue to fight on. This battle decided the fate of the galaxy. The fate of countless Jedi Padawans, Knights and Masters. The fate of countless of innocent beings of the galaxy.

Mace gave Anakin defensive support as Anakin worked the two blades in perfect harmony, spinning them over and about with blinding speed and precision. Sidious worked his red lightsaber desperately, flashing ahead and back with equal precision, picking off attack after attack and even countering once or twice to attempt to interrupt the flow of Anakin's barrage. However, Anakin had learned from his mistake on Geonosis. His training in Jar'Kai now made him a Master.

Mace launched some offensive strikes at Sidious, taking the fight up a notch. Sidious was driven back under the Jedis' vicious offensives. Anakin and Mace's confidence grew as Sidious appeared to weaken. Sidious saw an opening in Windu's defenses. He made a horizontal slash that scarred Mace's right shoulder. He screamed and fell to the ground, still alive.

Irritated at his superior being wounded, betrayed by a man he trusted, Anakin began to attack with furious anger. But a voice in the back of his head held his rage back. _Anakin, no!_

_Master Qui-Gon? _Anakin thought. He realized this is not how his first master would want him to behave. Calming himself, Anakin deactivated both of his lightsabers, putting them on his belt. He put his hands together, over his head. Blue and white energy began to form in his fingers. As Sidious returned his attention to Anakin, it was too late for him to launch any defense, he was blasted backwards by the tremendous Force blast. The intensity of it sent him through two walls, into the room where the bodies of Kolar and Tiin rested. He barely had time to stand back up and re-ignite his lightsaber as the blue lightning of Anakin's lightsaber, in his right mechanical hand, and the green shamrock blade, in his left flesh hand, came at him.

Anakin charged forward suddenly, bringing his green blade over his shoulder and across, down at the Chancellor, his blue blade coming up and over the other way. The green blade pushed the Sith's lightsaber out of the way, clearing the path for the victorious strike.


	2. Oneness

The crimson blade was batted aside by the Anakin Skywalker's green lightsaber, given to him by the mortally wounded Jedi Master Kit Fisto. His own lightsaber come up and over the other way. However, Sidious saw this coming. Using his mastery of Force Speed, he sped out of the way before the blue blade could cut off his head. His right arm, however, was not so lucky. Blue plasma sliced through the Sith Lord's lightsaber arm at the elbow. The stench of burnt flesh assaulted Anakin's nostrils. Sidious let out a huge scream that sent Anakin slamming into a wall.

Anakin rallied himself to fight the Sith Lord. But instead of charging and assaulting, Anakin just slowly walked towards the Sith Master. A being of light, Anakin was drawing into himself all of Sidious's lethal compounds, neutralizing them and casting them aside with ease.

He had attained the ability to cut through any resistance in himself; to sever the bonds of preconception; to open a gapping hole into a reality more expansive than any he had dared imagine; to _heal_. He had broken through the apparent opposites that concealed the absolute nature of the Force, and found his way into an unseen unity that existed beyond the seeming separateness of the world. For a moment all the cosmic tumblers had clicked into place, and light and dark sides became something he could balance within himself, without having to remain on one side or the other. The consciousness that was Anakin Skywalker was strewn across the vast spectrum of life energy. He had passed beyond choice and consequence, good and evil, light and dark, life and death.

All that had been required of Anakin was complete surrender-a technique once mastered by the Jedi Order but at some point misplaced; transposed to an emphasis on individual achievement, which had opened a way to arrogance.

In that the path was available to any who chose to seek and follow it, Anakin understood that the discovery was really a re-discovery. Indeed, the Sith had adhered to it when they had lived with power on Korriban and Dromund Kaas. In that dim protohistorical time, they had been group-minded, living in a world where the boundaries between self and other were permeable. By cutting that bond they had isolated themselves from the light side of the Force. They had deluded themselves into thinking that they were worshiping life, when in fact they were worshiping the only route to power left open to them, which was death.

Anakin realized that, in a sense, he had overcome Darth Sidious. He had passed beyond the tradition of the Jedi Order into a more embracing reality. But instead of attempting to steal the authority and power of the Force, or to become a god of the Force, he had finally allowed himself to merge with the Force in its entirety and become a conduit for its raw power, which flowed through him like the thundering headwaters of a great river. The conjoining of the Force and his powers enabled him to render himself big enough to gain Sidious's trust. Now he was big enough to destroy him.

Anakin approached the Dark Lord, where he parried objects thrown at him with a simple wave of his hand, absorbing Force lightning with his left hand. Gradually, Sidious began to understand, as well. He grasped that Anakin wasn't defending himself so much as using Sidious's own strengths against him. Anakin was fighting without fighting; drawing Sidious deeper into the struggle by demanding more of Sidious's power, to the point that he couldn't keep up. Anakin was the vacuum sucked away Sidious's strength. Anakin had become the dismantling void that was drawing Sidious into a slender thread, attenuating him to the point of infinite smallness.

Sidious deformed face began to change. His arteries pulsed and his veins bulged from beneath his pale, ugly skin.

Sidious fought with everything that remained in him, but Anakin could not be overwhelmed. As a pure conduit of the Force, he was incapable of taking missteps or making wrong moves. He stood not at the edge of the tilting ecliptic of his vision, but at the center, as a fulcrum. The weight that would disturb the balance was Sidious, but to Anakin, that weight was no longer of sufficient mass to make a difference.

Mace Windu limped into the room. His eyes widened at the sight before him. The Force encased Anakin like a white whirlwind, moving deep into the darkness the Order of the Sith Lords had brought to the galaxy, and gathering it and sending it up the spout into the funnel cloud, where it was transformed and dispersed.

Sidious was becoming more insubstantial by the moment. Anakin continued to stand firm, righting the world. He had become so powerful as to be dangerous to his own galaxy, for he could see clearly the temptations of the dark side and the desire to force one's will on others-to so completely dominate that all life would kowtow to him in order to save his loved ones, including his wife.

He purged his mind of all pride and evil intent and entered a moment of unadulterated bliss, where he seemed to have unlocked the very secrets of existence. In the place where the showdown had first occured, with the attempted arrest of Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker stood like a pillar of blinding light, feet planted, arms at his sides, chin lifted. The dazzling light seemed to spin outward from his midsection and surround him like an aura. His face was almost frighteningly serene, and perhaps a touch sad. The pupils of his eyes were like the rising Twin Suns of his homeworld.

Anakin raised his right hand, his fingers pointed as if reaching for something. Across the room, Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, was pinned to the wall like a captive prey, uneven eyes rolled up into his deformed head and slavering mouth opened wide in wonderment, agony despair-it was impossible to know. Sidious began to scream and groan. His arms and legs flailed and flapped through the air as his veins stuck out on his face. Anakin clenched his hand into a fist and Sidious's life deserted him quickly. He slid to the floor as if his bones had dissolved. Poured from his mouth, eyes, and ears, dark red energies began to consume him, leaving nothing more than a pile of red ash.

The Prophecy was complete. The Chosen One had destroyed the Sith. The Force was now brought back into balance.

"Goodbye, Supreme Chancellor," Anakin Skywalker simply said.


	3. Master

Anakin Skywalker knelt on his knees. He was looking at his hand. The hand that wore a black glove. The hand held a lightsaber. His own. The other held his late friend's own.

"How could it have come to this?"

Was it his voice? It must have been. Because it was his question.

"How could it have come to _this_?"

Another hand, a warm and human hand, laid itself softly on his shoulder.

"You followed your destiny, Anakin," a familiar gentle voice said. "He was a Sith. A traitor. You saved the Republic from his treachery. You can see that, can't you?"

"You were right, Master," Anakin heard himself saying. "I should have listened to your warnings. Why didn't I do so? And why didn't I know?"

"You couldn't have," Mace simply explained, now putting pressure on his wound. Sweat streaked his entire bald head. "He cloaked himself in deception. Because he was a Master of the dark side. He didn't trust you enough to tell you his identity until now. But he wasn't strong enough for you. He is gone. The Prophecy has been fulfilled. You have fulfilled your destiny by bringing balance back to the Force."

Anakin nodded. "Yes, finally. It's just..."

"I know. His betrayal hurts me, too. Now, let's gather our fallen comrades and back to the temple."

"I'll call security and have them secure the area," Anakin said. Slinging Mace's arm over his shoulder, they both walked out together. Anakin's heart told him it was all over, but something in the back of his head told him it wasn't.

ONE DAY LATER  
JEDI COUNCIL CHAMBER

Anakin Skywalker stood at the center of the chamber room. In their seats were he other Jedi Council members sat.

Coleman Kcaj. Mace Windu. Shaak Ti. Stass Allie. The holograms of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ki-Adi Mundi, Yoda and Plo Koon. His seat remained empty, as well as the seats of Kit Fisto, Saessee Tiin and Agen Kolar. A single tear went down Anakin's cheek.

_"Control your grief, you must, Anakin," _Yoda said. _"Gone, they may be, but one with the Force, they are also."_

"I know, Master Yoda," Anakin said. "Still, I can't help but feel so..."

_"Utterly betrayed?"_ Plo Koon asked.

"An understatement. Worse than betrayed. I can't find the word for it, but it's worse than betrayal. No offense, Obi-Wan, but the Chancellor was like a mentor to me."

Obi-Wan smiled. _"None taken, Anakin. I understand."_

Anakin nodded at his former master. "Now, I assume I was summoned here for a reason?"

Mace nodded. "Anakin Skywalker. You have done what no other Jedi could have done. You destroyed the last of the Sith Lords. You fulfilled the prophecy, and your destiny, as the Chosen One. Balance has been restored to the Force."

Anakin Skywalker nodded in acknowledgement.

_"No longer exist,"_ Yoda added. "_would the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, without you..._Master_ Skywalker."_

Anakin stood very still for a long moment, until he could be absolutely sure he had heard what he thought he'd heard. Finally, as it began to sink in upon him, as he gradually allowed himself to understand that the Council had finally decided to grant him his heart's desire, that they finally had recognized his accomplishments, his dedication, his _power_, he took a slow, deep breath.

"Me? A Master?" was all Anakin could muster.

"After what you've accomplished, there's no one that would object," Mace confirmed.

"Thank you, Masters," Anakin exclaimed. "You have my pledge that I will uphold the highest principles of the Jedi Order...Anakin Skywalker; Jedi Master."

_"Don't get cocky, Anakin," _Ki-Adi Mundi said.

"Sorry, Master. I've just...been waiting for this moment for a long time."

_"We know," _Obi-Wan said with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Anakin refocused himself as he took his seat. "Since General Grievous and...the Chancellor have been destroyed, I presume finding the Separatist Council members is now our new highest priority?"

_"Correct, you are, Master Skywalker,"_ Yoda confirmed.

Anakin smiled at hearing his new rank, but kept it under control after receiving a look from Obi-Wan.

_"Before I engaged General Grievous on Utapau," _Obi-Wan said. _"he said to the Separatist Council that he was sending them to the Mustafar system in the Outer Rim. It's a volcanic planet."_

_"To Mustafar then, we must go," _Yoda declared.

"I've been there before. When me and..." It pained Anakin to remember his deceased Padawan. "...Ahsoka saved those Jedi children. I should probably go."

"Agreed," Mace said.

_"I will meet you there,"_ Obi-Wan said. _"Grievous is destroyed. Commander Cody can handle Utapau."_

Anakin nodded. "Of course, Master. I-"

Suddenly, he heard a loud ringing shrieking in his ears. Anakin put one hand over his ear, groaning as the ringing continued.

"Anakin, what is it?" Mace asked, leaning forward.

In his mind, Anakin saw a planet. It was mainly covered in jungle and rainforest. A huge temple sat in one of the many forests. Inside the temple was a man with long hair, in a tail, with glowing yellow eyes. On his right cheek were three lines, or possibly scars.

"Something, or someone, I'm sure, is calling me to...Yavin IV," Anakin said.

_"Ventress?"_ Obi-Wan asked, leaning in.

Anakin shook his head. "No, Master. I saw a man. And Ventress disappeared after Boz Pity anyway. Something tells me I must go alone."

"Anakin, are you sure that is wise?" Shaak Ti asked.

"I must go alone," Anakin repeated.

_"Then may the Force be with you,"_ Yoda said.

YAVIN IV

Anakin pulled the level on his right. The blue turned into lines than back into stars. The familiar red planet of Yavin Prime filled his windscreen. Then the blue and green moon that was Yavin IV came into view.

"Do you have the temple's position?" Anakin asked R2-D2. R2 answered with unsureness. They were close. "That's close enough, R2. We'll just have to search the immediate area on foot."

R2 beeped back as they touched down. Anakin undid his seat straps and got out, as did R2. R2 nervously beeped.

"Don't worry, R2," Anakin assured his friend. "This won't take long. I've been here before. It's probably nothing."

_At least I hope,_ Anakin thought. _I sense a great darkness here._

**Will update. Review.**


End file.
